The next cabin I circled was empty. I climbed the steps and whined in front of the door. Naomi joined me and lifted the mat. “It was worth a try,” she said with a shrug. “I’d rather not break the window, since that could set off an alarm. That’s the last thing we need.”
Her face lit up when she pulled a key out of the mailbox. “I knew it. These rentals are always a little fast and loose with security.” She tried the lock and it turned easily. The lights worked, and the place was furnished. “If we’re lucky, these get rented on some sort of honor system. Not all that unusual in mom and pop places like this. Only problem is if we have a nosy neighbor or if the people who rented this cabin actually show up.”
She hobbled over to the bed and let out a breath between clenched teeth. Another groan slipped out when she took off her boot. Her ankle was already swollen. I hopped up on the bed next to her and pressed myself against her, nudging the hand on her foot with my snout. Worrying about it wasn’t going to help anything. If I could make her relax, I had a chance to get her out of here in one piece. Fuck, I wished we’d had a chance to talk about this. But I never planned on bringing her to my world. Instead, my world found us.
Didn’t matter how much I planned or how far I ran from my pack...they’d come for me. And now was the time to settle the score.
Chapter Seven
NAOMI
I’d been kidnapped by a man who turned into a wolf, sprained the shit out of my ankle, and broken into someone’s cabin.
This was not what I signed up for. And I’m pretty sure this was definitely not in the contract.
Tessa was blowing up my phone, and I sent her straight to voicemail. What the hell was I going to tell her? That Sebastian pulled me out of the restaurant to sprout fangs and fur because there was a pack of angry wolves on our asses? That I could possibly need bail money after breaking and entering into some random cabin? That I was okay? That was debatable.
She’d call the police, and they’d find Sebastian’s car on the side of the mountain. When they found him like this, it would only get worse. I wasn’t sure how the law responded to pack trouble, and he’d been adamant I didn’t call for back up.
I’m okay. I promise. Sebastian had to take care of something, I texted. And then I shut the location finder off. Only time would tell if that was a stupid move.
Sebastian was even more gorgeous in his wolf form. He had thick, gray fur streaked with black. And those incredible eyes. Strong and sturdy, his muscles tensed under my touch. The urge to trace my hands over his back and shoulders like this was overwhelming. Not yet. But I wanted to. Even more now that I’d seen him shift. His animal took control of the situation, but he stayed with me when he shifted. For someone as private as Sebastian seemed, that was a big deal. Or I was making something more out of this than it really was to distract myself from the fact I was in some pretty serious shit right now. Shit I had no idea how to get out of.
Each howl got louder, closer, like a crack of thunder in an impending storm. Sebastian bristled, but he stayed with me, nudging his snout under my hand. His dark eyes lit up again, like pieces of amber, with secrets trapped inside.
“As soon as you shift back to human, you better tell me everything.” I buried my face in his musky fur. With him pressed against me like this, it was hard to be scared.
Sebastian huffed and jumped off the bed, sniffing around the windows and doors. The whine and cry I understood. He wanted out. I was a fool to open the door and let the calm of the cabin rush out, and let in the danger that drove us here.
It wasn’t going to get better if I got us trapped in here. Sebastian had more experience with this danger business. I got up to let him out—
Holy crap, that hurt. My ankle was no joke.
He whimpered again, his eyes filled with more emotion than he showed as a human. I hobbled over to the door and opened it.
A howl greeted us, echoing off the walls of the tiny cabin. This one was close enough to get under my skin. He gazed up at me, and I was light-headed from the pain, and the fact there was a man trapped inside that animal’s body—one with so much to tell me.
He licked my hand and ran down the stairs. His howl shattered the night. Anyone who crossed his path, animal or man, would know better than to mess with him.
But no one would think twice about messing with me. Lights flicked on in the neighboring cabins and I slammed the door shut. I turned the light off and convinced myself anyone Sebastian woke up was too busy looking for the big, bad wolf, and would ignore the guilty human in the next cabin.
I fell on the bed. Everything was throbbing from my ankle to my heart. What if he didn’t come back? Or what if he sent those wolves for me? Or they found me anyway?
I picked up my phone, regretting blowing off Tessa. She answered anyway, and for once, I was glad I couldn’t get rid of her. We’re worried about you. This wasn’t part of the script.
Script? Sebastian was reading from some one-sided script and no one told me? I had too much to worry about to even be pissed. I’d been played in every possible way.
You really need to read the contract, she answered. Ugh. Yeah, I’d get right on it. As soon as Sebastian shifted back to human and carried me off this mountain. Pathetic, but I was in no shape for a hike.
A sharp howl had me bolt upright on the bed. My mind kept replaying Sebastian’s shift in slow motion. The way his animal burst out of his skin. I scooted over to the window. Even that hurt my ankle. Barking ensued, and there were more than two wolves out there. Those sounds didn’t come from a house pet.
I hopped across the room, swearing as I looked for anything that could be used as a weapon. Sebastian was outnumbered, and he needed help. Even if it came from someone with a bad ankle who didn’t like squishing bugs.
A safety stick secured the sliding glass door in the kitchen. I laughed at the irony as I took it and hobbled onto the front porch. The night was still, only some distant barking broke the silence. Another howl and a symphony of angry barks marking their territory. I clutched the stick, angry with myself for letting him go.
I wish I knew what he was fighting for so I could fight right along with him. No. Sebastian had lied to me, too. There was a script. I read Tessa’s message over and over, and reminded myself how little I knew this man.
It was too late. I had already caught feelings for him.
Chapter Eight
SEBASTIAN
Stefan was a coward. Some things never changed. He’d only gotten better at disguising it under the threats and the muscle, but being pack alpha hadn’t made him a better man. I would never recognize him as a leader, even though the pack followed his reign of madness without question. They had watched what he did to me. But I had been lucky. I had an escape plan that didn’t involve the pack. A lot of those guys didn’t.
Didn’t make expelling me from the pack forgivable. And no fucking way would I let them get their claws into Naomi. She had nothing to do with pack politics. Shit, we hadn’t even had a chance to have an actual date. But she left with me, followed me into danger and I still let her get hurt. And then I left her in a stolen cabin. I had a lot of explaining to do.
Stefan was right. I did suck at loyalty. I’d make it up to her. Somehow.
My brother and the rest of his pack where nowhere to be found when I left the cabin. Typical, playing hide and seek, waiting to strike until a man was down. I knew this game, because I showed him how to play it. I was much better at games than he was.
“What’s the matter, brother?” I yelled into the night. Human ears would hear a howl, but my audience would get my message loud and clear. “Afraid I’ll take your pack away from you?”
Laughter. Fuck these guys. They were all supposed to be my brothers, pack mates, loyal until they died. Stefan had no idea what integrity was, or that our pack needed to work with the other animals on Faraway Island if we had a chance at survival.
“Who’s the pretty girl you’ve got with you?” Stefan’s voice was l
oud and clear. I turned around and he was behind me, sneaky bastard, as always. His coat was gray with black streaks, just like mine, but he was smaller than I remembered him. Maybe because I spent most of my days with linebackers that shifted into grizzlies. And I had no problem knocking them to the ground. “Curves for days. Bet she tastes like a ripe peach. She’ll look good tied to that bed. With all of us—”
“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that.” My stomach knotted with rage.
Stefan huffed. “Do you actually think she’s your mate?” he asked, his voice softened. “Did you tell her what would happen when you came back to Alaska?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna win a championship with the Bloodhounds. No need to tell her about this bullshit. You don’t mean shit to me.”
The guys who hid behind Stefan’s protection laughed again. That was the problem. They always believed in him more than they ever believed in me. Time to put the bite behind my bark. I prepared to lunge forward, growling, but hesitated when I saw Stefan’s teeth bared, someone else’s blood already on his coat. My brother was looking for a fight tonight.
“Don’t fool yourself, brother.” The word was hurled from his fangs as an insult. “You didn’t come back here a hero. The Bloodhounds are the only team that would take you. Everyone else passed on you in the draft. You’re weak, Sebastian. That didn’t change. Now you’re banging some gold digger from a reality show. You must be really fucking desperate to come back up here for that.”
I ran at Stefan and jumped. I’d practiced the move all week in training camp to get in the end zone on short yardage for a touchdown. Coach was a shifter too, and no surprise, my move worked when I wanted to avoid a batshit crazy wolf’s sharp fangs. My jaws connected with his shoulder, my body out of his grasp. It was enough to wrestle him down to the dirt. I had to work fast. Stefan had backup. I didn’t. My plan was to hurt him enough to take him out of commission. If he weren’t my brother, the hurt him plan would be upgraded to dead. Repeat as many times as necessary until I made sure Naomi was safe.
Stefan was fighting for the pack, and I fought for my independence. If he understood the difference, that I didn’t want what he had, this could’ve been settled with a handshake. That wasn’t my brother’s style. The egotistical prick thought everyone wanted what he had. The tiny piece of the island he still laid claim to. He ripped my shoulder with his claws and mouth. I still had the upper hand, pinning him to the ground. The other guys didn’t hesitate jumping in. Teeth and claws were everywhere, each tear of my flesh sent black slashes across my vision. I could take pain. I trained to have my body punished every day. But not like this.
The unmistakable, sickening snap of bone startled all of us. It was enough for me to shake free. But my brother didn’t get up.
“What did you do to him?” one of the other wolves growled.
“Same thing you would’ve done to me.” I couldn’t tear my gaze away from my brother’s motionless body. Only the slight rise of his filthy coat confirmed he was alive. There was no love lost between the two of us, but I didn’t want him to die. Especially by my hand. It had consequences beyond death. I’d already had years to mourn losing him, but if he died, I became the alpha, and I definitely didn’t want that.
I wasn’t going to stick around to find out what happened. I needed to get back to Naomi, and my life that didn’t involve the pack. I gave the others a growl, warning them not to follow me, and trotted off between the trees to let the pack deal with the consequences of their alpha’s actions. Everything in my life might have fractured along with Stefan’s bone, and I’d never felt less like a wolf. I worked hard to get where I was, and alpha was a full-time job. I wasn’t ready to give up my dream for my destiny.
Besides, I had another destiny waiting for me in a stolen cabin.
The first shift of the night was exhilarating, but the second hurt like hell. The last time I endured pain like this was when Stefan expelled me from the pack. He’d sent me away bloody and torn that night, too. My body took its sweet ass time knitting itself to human flesh and bone. If I’d done this more, the transition would be seamless. I’d have to work on that. I couldn’t stop thinking about my brother lying motionless in the cold mountain dirt. And Naomi, waiting for me all alone in that cabin. Once the pack determined if Stefan would live or die, they’d be out for revenge. I left an easy target exposed.
No more mistakes.
It took forever to get back. My ribs were fucking killing me and the gouge on my shoulder burned. This was the real fucking pain that shifters endured to protect what was theirs. I kept thinking about Coach in the locker room, telling us how we had the advantage. How everyone would overlook us and count us out. But we were better and stronger than that. My reality was bleeding into blackness, and I had to keep focused on the only steady thing in my life if I’d make it back to the cabin before those bastards I used to consider packmates.
Naomi’s scent carried in the breeze. I had to get back to her before the other wolves, looking for revenge, scented her. I inhaled the vanilla wind and broke into a run, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw her. She sat on the dark front stoop, more beautiful than ever and most importantly, in one piece. She dropped the stick she held when she saw me coming. It bounced on the step and landed on her swollen ankle.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” I picked up the stick and handed it to her.
Our gazes locked when she took it from me, and time stood still. A desperate howl in the distance cracked the spell and she snatched the stick away.
“Scared me? Which time are you talking about? When you pulled to the side of the road, stripped off your clothes and had an animal burst through your skin, or when you took off in the direction of a bunch of snarling wolves who sounded ready for a fight, or when you strolled up naked like nothing happened?”
“You think I look scary naked?” I couldn’t believe Naomi could get me to laugh on a shit night like this. I looked down at myself, suddenly aware of how naked I was. Wolves aren’t modest like humans, but it had been so long since I’d been like this, and Naomi didn’t look as impressed as a man might hope.
“No, you look pretty fantastic naked. But what was I supposed to do while you were off dog fighting?” She rolled her eyes and pulled herself up to standing, wincing when she had to put weight on her bad ankle. “We’re too far out for police, and there’s a different brand of justice out here, judging from the looks of you.”
“You learn quick.” I put my arm around her to help her up the stairs and she gasped. Right. My brain hadn’t totally shifted back to human yet and I’d already forgotten I was naked. The whole night was too much for her, too soon. “Let me help you. You’re hurt.”
I had to get her inside before the pack scented her. The trail outside would be muddied by my blood, but the house was a spicy vanilla haze that made much more than my wolf rumble.
“You’re hurt, too. Your tattoo is all messed up. You’re bleeding,” she said softly. “And still naked.”
“I’m used to it. I spend a lot of time in front of other people without my clothes on. In the locker room and when I shift. Not something I usually do on a first date, though.”
“Is that what this is?” She stood in the middle of the room squeezing her eyes closed. I put my filthy hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged me off.
I grabbed one of the throw pillows and put it in my lap. “No. You deserve a better first date than this. I had all these plans and they got blown to shit.”
“Now are you going to tell me what the hell happened?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t know where to start. “I might have killed my brother.”
Chapter Nine
NAOMI
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I asked. Sebastian was a bloody, dirty mess. I flipped on the light before heading to the sink, pressing my lips together to hold in my cry. He was in way more pain than I was.
“Yes and no.” He followed me into the kitchen. “What are you doing?
You can barely walk.”
I dug in the drawers for a washcloth, not caring about the mess. Whatever I used would never come clean, not after a confession like that. More than Sebastian’s blood had come to the surface tonight. “Cleaning you up. That’s a nasty gash on your neck.”
After squeezing warm water out of the cloth, I brought it to his neck. My breath caught in my throat on contact. Sebastian’s body felt different—harder. Not quite human yet. And he was still naked. I moved the cloth carefully across his chest, scared of what I’d find under the dirt and blood. The damage to the tattoo wasn’t from tonight. Thick, pink scars marred the design. I didn’t know where to look—certainly not down. We were so close. Heat radiated from his body. So I looked up.
That was just as dangerous.
The amber glow swirled in his eyes, fighting the regular dark brown for dominance. I’d never seen anything like it. But the most remarkable thing was he looked at me the same way, the rise and fall of his chest working in rhythm with the washcloth. I moved closer to the gash. He hadn’t been cut with a knife or shot—nothing nice and neat like that. Someone had tried to rip him in half.
Sebastian sucked in a breath when I got closer to the wound. I froze, afraid to hurt him. More. Time stopped and I bathed in the heat of his body and his gaze. It was hard to tell which one was deadlier.
With his defenses down, he brushed his fingers across my cheek. Soft as a whisper. He leaned in closer, his hair a mess and his face filthy after his fight. His lips were as soft as his fingers as they moved against mine, saying everything he couldn’t. He pulled me in closer, the kiss intensifying. I let him in. Sebastian needed it as bad as I did. A place to belong. Our tongues tangled for dominance and I gasped when I pulled away. He needed too much and there was no question I’d give it to him. Just not yet.
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